Zach Bryan’s New Song Criticizes ICE Raids And Sparks Online Debate
Zach Bryan, who’s one of country music’s biggest stars, has inserted himself right in the middle of America’s ongoing immigration debate with a new song that sparked plenty of internet chatter.
The cut comes amid US Immigration and Customs Enforcement going on militaristic raids in US cities to deport undocumented residents, at the instruction of President Donald Trump, which has led to massive protests. Bryan teased the new song on Instagram, but he didn’t give an official title, although it’s reportedly called “Bad News.”
“The fading of the red white and blue,” the 29-year-old captioned the audio clip, one of the lines in the song.
Bryan’s Lyrics
Bryan also criticizes law enforcement in the short clip, calling them “cocky motherf—-ers,” while singing about children being frightened during raids, something that was witnessed earlier this month when ICE conducted an overnight raid in a five-story Chicago building.
“And ICE is gonna come bust down your door / Try to build a house no one builds no more / But I got a telephone / Kids are all scared and all alone / The Boss stopped bumping, the rock stopped rolling / The middle fingers rising and it won’t stop showing / I got some bad news / The fading of the red, white, and blue,” sings Bryan over a lush guitar riff.
Bryan has been photographed with Trump, and he admired the President raising his fist after the 2024 assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, but he didn’t support Trump or Joe Biden at that time.
But with many of the singer’s fans being on the right, he’s obviously aware of the backlash he’d received and seems to be following in the footsteps of his idol Bruce Springsteen, who’s a known Trump critic and rallies against some of America’s political norms in songs.
In fact, Bryan has some of the lyrics to Springsteen’s song “State Trooper” tattooed on his arm, and he met him for the first time last year at the 76-year-old’s farm in Colts Neck, New Jersey.
How Zach Bryan’s Fans Are Reacting To The Song
Bryan disabled the comment section on Instagram when posting the teaser, but many shared their opinion on some of his previous postsas well as Twitter.
“Who’s ready for the Zach Bryan-Dixie Chicks tour? Prob a huge Bud Light sponsorship for this one,” tweeted country singer John Rich, who brought up The Chicks’ singer Natalie Maines criticizing former President George W. Bush on stage a little before the Iraq War.
“Good luck with the new fan base,” wrote one person on Instagram about Bryan’s song. “What a disappointment. Country boys joining the Hollywood elites now?” wrote someone else.
But many praised Bryan, with one Instagram user writing, “Thank you for speaking about how America is falling apart,” while another individual wrote, “Thank you. Being on the right side of history…the side of empathy, compassion, kindness, and unity.”
No word from Bryan on when the full song will be releasedbut when it does, it’ll certainly cause a larger, more intense debate. It’ll also be interesting to see the reaction from the crowd when he plays it live.